“People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies. Mexican author Don Miguel Ruiz's words of knowledge are expressed extensively throughout Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, as the characters suffer the consequences of lying. For example, Jack Worthing uses his fictional brother, Earnest, to lead a social life which leads to complications throughout the play. Similarly, Algeron Moncrieff creates an imaginary character known as Bunbury, who eventually turns into another problem he must overcome. In order to keep his double life a secret, Jack Worthing hides the truth from Algeron when he insists on not knowing a girl named Cecily. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jack Worthing leads a double life with the help of the non-existent character Earnest. First, Jack digs himself a hole when he creates Earnest, a fictional character he uses as an alibi for running his personal errands. In reality, Jack “has no brothers and never had a brother.” Jack benefits from his lies because he can have more free time, however, this involves him in an incredibly complicated situation. Moreover, without knowing it, he traps himself in a chaotic situation because of the temptation to free himself from his country estate. Jack uses Earnest to escape his country estate for a few days at a time, he no longer has to choose between "his health or his happiness." Although this causes problems, Jack creates Earnest as a way to both have a social life and still own his country estate. On top of this, Jack causes conflict for himself and others around him when he lies about his younger brother Earnest. Jack leaves town when Earnest "finds himself in the worst trouble." When Jack excuses himself from business by visiting his younger brother Earnest, not only does he lie, but he gets involved in an argument. Algeron Moncrieff creates an imaginary character known as Bunbury. Like Jack, Algeron invents Bunbury to offer him a respite from his daily life. Algeron wants “to be able to come down to the county whenever he wants” without having a valid reason. Although this lie allows Algeron to evade his social obligations, it also causes difficulties in his life. Additionally, Algeron creates Bunbury in order to have a ready excuse to leave whenever he wants. Algeron portrays Bunbury as "a priceless permanent invalid" so that he can easily lie about being called to Bunbury's deathbed. Algeron uses Bunbury to excuse himself from his familiar responsibilities as well as his job duties which end up getting him into trouble. Additionally, Bunbury allows Algeron to avoid unpleasant situations. With Bunbury's help, Algeron is able to "dinner with Jack at Willi's" as well as many other events that Algeron would have missed without Bunbury. Algeron replaces unwanted situations with more pleasant ones by being sneaky, but ends up with more trouble than necessary. Jack Worthing invents a false story to tell about his double life. Jack withholds the truth as Algeron asks him a question about whether he knows anyone named Cecily. Algeron finds a cigarette case that Jack claims is his, but "the cigarette case is a gift from someone named Cecily" which Jack insists he knows now. Jack lies once again in order to protect the identity he created from the beginning and which embroils him in unnecessary conflict. Jack hides the truth in order to keep.